Living and Dying
by Namimakura
Summary: Two souls who could potentially live forever yet die at any time bound together by a love meant to last... A lovely fifty sentences of Nemu/Ukitake goodness. LJ community inspired.


_AN: hey!! waves actually, this is a fifty 1sentence ficlet thing... inspired by the community on lj and using one of their lists... but i'm actually too lazy to post it there. lol. but yay! more nemu/uki goodness i know you've all been waiting for... variety of areas, etc. yes, i /did/ manage to throw in some comedy... lol. anyway, hope you all love and have time for a review!_

_also, pimpage! any of you who /don't/ know **cricketchick1990 **are missing out! she writes some /awesome/ ichiruki and has gone into a series, called evolution... which she just posted another part of called **cost**!! if you love this... please, please please, go read her awesome series! (which she worked really hard on and does well) and leave her a review?? (insert puppy dog eyes) all right, all right, on to the fic!_

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**Ring**

It was only a circular band of metal, cut and shaped to fit around a feminine finger and yet Nemu couldn't help but feel that Jyuushirou intended some kind of special meaning to accompany it.

**Hero**

Jyuushirou laughed at the idea of being a hero; after all, wasn't she the one that had saved him?

**Memory**

Nemu had a photographic memory, remembering everything in exquisite detail, a gift she was incredibly grateful for, if only because she never wanted to forget any of the perfect moments they shared together.

**Box**

There had been a time once when Nemu had lived in the little box her father had created for her; she hadn't been there when Jyuushirou exacted a little justice on her behalf but there had been no one in Soul Society who hadn't _heard _it.

**Run**

At first, Jyuushirou had tried to run away from this feeling, especially because he was so aware of his own fragile mortality; it wasn't until he realized quite how much she needed him (to protect her from herself and her sadistic father) that he was able to let go of his fear.

**Hurricane**

Being around the Thirteenth Division—Kiyone and Sentarou in particular—was much like being in a hurricane, but Nemu didn't mind it so much; there was too much love everywhere for such little things to bother her now.

**Wings**

Jyuushirou had said it before and was more than willing to reiterate it—kissing Nemu felt exactly like flying.

**Cold**

Nemu had never realized how cold she felt—at least, not until kissing Jyuushirou had warmed her all the way to her toes.

**Red**

When Mayuri finally went too far, all Jyuushirou saw was a crimson red, staining the whole of his vision with its brilliant hue; needless to say, Mayuri had run.

**Drink**

Even drunk, Nemu was as stoic as she had ever been; Jyuushirou, on the other hand, ended up sobbing on Nemu's shoulder the entire time (it was no wonder he had never particularly joined Shunsui).

**Midnight**

After having been introduced to fairy tales, particularly Cinderella, Nemu had been glad to say that her life was _not _like one at all—the magic did not end at midnight.

**Temptation**

Jyuushirou knew he never should have pursued her, but every time he saw her, he simply couldn't resist the illicit temptation.

**View**

Her views may have been a bit graphic at times, but sometimes, Jyuushirou couldn't really say he minded.

**Music**

When Nemu listened to music, all she heard were carefully measured times and mathematical precision; Jyuushirou didn't bother listening to prerecorded music—he could hear his own whenever they kissed.

**Silk**

"Did you know silk originates from spider's webbing? (Nemu's response upon being told that her skin was smooth as silk)."

**Cover**

At first, Jyuushirou thought she might be safer if they kept their relationship undercover, that is, until he decided that she'd be safer if he stepped up to defend her from her own father.

**Promise**

"Promise me you won't let him kill you," he begged, eyes burning into hers.

**Dream**

Not even her dreams, admittedly rather static, could have prepared her for the wonder of foreplay—though it might have helped that she was in love with him.

**Candle**

With a final puff of smoke, the candle finally flickered out, leaving the couple happily entrenched in darkness.

**Talent**

Jyuushirou had been alive (or dead, really) long enough to develop a whole horde of talents, but the one he valued the most was the one that allowed him to coax that reluctant smile from Nemu's lips.

**Silence**

There was usually silence between them, but it was a silence more pregnant with communication than words usually held.

**Journey**

Jyuushirou liked to think of his life as a journey, and he had to admit, so far, this was his favorite length of it.

**Fire**

There was something about the way firelight flickered across her face that made it irresistible to lean forward and capture the adorable vice-captain's lips with his own.

**Strength**

Jyuushirou would have said she was the stronger for having endured so much but surviving in tact; Nemu would have claimed that he was stronger for being able to defy those he loved if he felt it necessary.

**Mask**

Nemu had been born with a mask in place and it had taken Jyuushirou years to strip it away only to realized that it had never been a mask at all—only an inability to express emotions.

**Ice**

Before he had really known her, he had been amongst the rest of the shinigami in thinking that she was cold as ice; once he knew her, it was only a matter of realizing that the ice was only an outer shell smothering the fire within.

**Fall**

Nemu didn't really understand the expression 'falling in love' until she finally gave up waiting for Jyuushirou to come to her and tripped chasing after him.

**Forgotten**

Jyuushirou had thought that those moments when she looked off into the distance were times when she forgot he was there, only to discover that it was just her graphic mind at work again.

**Dance**

When Jyuushirou asked her to dance, Nemu asked if he thought she needed the exercise; it wasn't until he dragged her body to his that she realized its true purpose.

**Body**

She had always known she had a great body, but it was nice to know that wasn't the only reason he loved her.

**Sacred**

No matter how many times he saw her, he couldn't help but hold each glimpse as sacred.

**Farewells**

"I've already said good-bye to too many," Jyuushirou whispered, voice raw, "Don't make me say good-bye to you."

**World**

"What do you mean, I want to see the world? You're my world." Nemu to Jyuushirou

**Formal**

When Jyuushirou had finally asked so formally for her hand in marriage, she really hadn't known that he wasn't asking for her hand.

**Fever**

Nemu stared at Jyuushirou, face flushed, still firmly insisting that it wasn't a fever that caused her cheeks to flame, but him.

**Laugh**

Jyuushirou hadn't heard it yet, but he knew if he persevered he'd definitely get her to laugh; after all, he could already get her to smile.

**Lies**

After the first lie, Jyuushirou had to wonder about everything else Nemu told him, that is, until he realized that the blame lay with her captain's orders; following that discovery, he'd wasted no time in breaking her out of her 'box.'

**Forever**

Even though he'd been alive over a millennia, he knew better than to promise forever; he could only promise to love her for whatever time he had left.

**Overwhelmed**

Nemu may never have been overwhelmed, but that didn't mean she knew how to handle the horrifyingly strong emotion that swelled in her chest whenever she looked at her Jyuushirou.

**Whisper**

Every whispered breath and tiny gasp from her delicate form was enough for him to moan in response, head buried against her slender neck.

**Wait**

When Nemu finally decided she'd had enough of waiting, she found it odd that Jyuushirou had too.

**Talk**

Talking had never been their strong suit, as Nemu wasn't particularly inclined to it, but their communication was perfect.

**Search**

Jyuushirou searched and searched but still claimed he'd never seen anything as perfect as his Nemu.

**Hope**

Nemu had never particularly hoped anything for herself, having been wholly dedicated to her father, but as soon as Jyuushirou's lips had touched hers, she'd hoped they would again.

**Eclipse**

Jyuushirou hadn't understood what she meant at first—Nemu didn't tend to favor metaphors to say the least—when she told him that he was her eclipse.

**Gravity**

"Not even the force of gravity could keep them apart!" Kyouraku Shunsui declared, followed nearly instantaneously Nanao's fan _thwack_ing his skull—though Jyuushirou was inclined to agree with him.

**Highway**

Upon Nemu asking Jyuushirou to explain a highway, Shunsui interrupted, "Why, Nemu-chan, it's the road Jyuushirou-chan speeds home to you on! _Thwack_! Ow! Cruel, cruel, Nanao-chan!"

**Unknown**

It was always unknown, how each day would end, but Jyuushirou enjoyed the new uncertainty life with Nemu brought him.

**Lock**

He would have said her heart had been under lock and key; she would have said that he walked through the open door and locked everyone else _out_.

**Breathe**

Somewhat surprisingly, it was Jyuushirou who had to remind _Nemu _to breathe after he kissed her.


End file.
